


A Breath of Air

by gentlelogic



Series: The Human!Sides College AU Verse [6]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Family Bonding, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mother-Son Relationship, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Virgil's parents are Angels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23042596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gentlelogic/pseuds/gentlelogic
Summary: Virgil's agoodkid who doesn't deserve anything that's happened to him. It's frustrating that there isn't much Jonathon can do to help, because he's Virgil's dad for God's sake. He should be able to do something.But he loves him. So much. And that, in its own way, is enough.or.Virgil's having a hard time and Jonathon and Grace are good parents.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Series: The Human!Sides College AU Verse [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/721698
Comments: 21
Kudos: 126





	A Breath of Air

At 12:34 AM, Jonathon stopped in front of the door to his house with way too much hesitation than any person should feel before entering their home. Yet, he would have liked to think his hesitation was warranted. After all, it’d been a long day, especially after working an evening shift, and he had little to no clue what he’d walk in on. Would it be a _we need to call his therapist, Jon, I think Virgil’s getting self-destructive again_ kind of night? Maybe a _he’s not talking; he won’t get out of bed_ kind of night?

At the same time, his hesitation filled him with guilt. Virgil was his son and Jonathon signed up for all this when he became a parent. He wouldn’t trade it for the world.

That didn’t make it any easier.

Jonathon swung the door open tiredly and was greeted by Smokey leaping excitedly up on his legs. He smiled softly and gave her a few pets before locking the door behind him. He walked into the living room, reaching for a light switch to turn the lights on. Grace was sleeping soundly on the sofa, a book labelled “Practicing Gentleness, Even in The Storm: How to Support Your Child With PTSD,” smushed under her face.

Jonathon felt a pang of tenderness in his heart and he crouched down to her level to kiss her forehead softly. Grace didn’t stir in the slightest.

“Gross, dad.”

Jonathon startled and turned around to see Virgil on another couch, leaning against the arm. His eyes were droopy and the deep purple bags under his eyes made Jonathon’s heart ache.

“Hey, buddy. You’re still up.”

Virgil nodded and sat up, crossing his legs. “Mom was trying to stay up with me, so I didn’t feel alone.” Virgil shrugged and gave a wry smile. “She fell asleep though.”

“I noticed.” Jonathon set his computer bag down beside the couch and slowly made his way in front of Virgil. The two stared at each other for a long moment before Jonathon finally sat down beside his son, resting a hand on the back of his neck.

“Is it nightmares? Flashbacks? Suicidal thoughts? Do I need-”

“I’m not gonna kill myself, dad,” Virgil snapped, a harsh bite to his words. Jonathon carefully masked the hurt by gently squeezing the back of Virgil’s neck and offering a small smile.

“Okay, okay; that’s good. Just getting the worst-case scenario out of the way first, ya know?”

Virgil scowled. “I know all about that.”

“You want to talk about anything?”

“No.”

“Want to tell me to ‘fuck off’?”

“Dad!” Virgil gasped, eyes flickering anxiously over to where Grace was still sleeping peacefully. Jonathon masked a smile; if Virgil could only hear some of his mother’s notorious swearing from back in the day, maybe he wouldn’t be so aghast.

“Well, do you?”

“A bit, yeah, maybe,” Virgil said, but he had a small trace of a smile on his face and Jonathon counted that as a win.

Jonathon smiled and dropped his hand to reach into his pocket and pull out his phone. After he kicked his shoes off, he pulled them up under himself and shifted around until he was comfortable. Smokey hopped up beside him, resting her snout on his thigh.

Virgil stared at him like he’d grown a second head. “What are you doing?”

“I’m getting comfortable and I’m gonna play Candy Crush. What does it look like?”

“Nobody likes Candy Crush.”

“I do,” Jonathon said. “So somebody does.”

Virgil was quiet for a good minute until—

“You don’t have to stay up with me. I’m not gonna hurt myself.”

“I know,” Jonathon said softly. He ran a hand through Virgil’s hair, just like he and Grace used to do all the time when Virgil was small enough to not care. But his guard was down and instead of jerking away in embarrassment, he leaned into it, his eye shutting. “But I just wanna stay here and play some Candy Crush. Okay?”

Virgil nodded, opening his eyes again. He looked a little shaky—way too exhausted for an innocent kid to look—but he smiled.

“I love you,” Virgil said. “You and mom. I can be so—” Virgil coughed, his eyes looking suspiciously watery. “I can be a lot sometimes and I’m glad you put up with it. Some parents wouldn’t.”

Jonathon smiled. “I love you too, Virgil. And we don’t just put up with you, okay? You’re our everything.”

Virgil nodded, wiping his eyes, then so quickly, as if scared Jonathon wouldn’t allow it if he caught it—Virgil shoved himself against Jonathon and wrapped his arms around his middle and laid his head against his chest. He didn’t move and Jonathon figured that’s the way Virgil wanted it.

He didn’t say anything to interrupt—just pulled up the Candy Crush app on his phone and played until Virgil’s breathing evened out and his body relaxed.

It was moments like those—and for the life of him, Jonathon couldn’t understand why—that made him so angry. Angry that Virgil’s childhood had been stripped away from him in one moment. That Virgil had to carry the biggest burden around with himself all the time. That things would never be the same.

“You’re home?”

Jonathon blinked and realised he’d set his phone down at one point and was staring into space. Grace was gazing back at him from the other couch, her book set aside.

“Yeah.”

“He asleep?”

Jonathon nodded.

Grace smiled and stood up, walking over to him. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to Jonathon’s forehead then one to Virgil’s head.

“You all right, darling?”

Jonathon smiled tightly. “I am. I’m just…” His lip was wobbling suspiciously. “The world is pretty damn cruel, isn’t it?”

Grace nodded solemnly, leaning down to give him another kiss, then cupped his face gently. She smiled, so softly, her messy dark curls pressing against his face as she leaned in again.

“The world is, but _we’re_ not. And we want to make sure he knows that, yeah? And you’re doing a great job of showing him that he has you to rely on when the cruelty of everything feels like too much.”

Jonathon nodded and Grace wiped the tears that were running down his face and kissed him again.

“You do a good job too,” Jonathon said. “You do and I hope you know it because he knows it and I do—”

“I know, sweetheart.” Grace sighed softly, then turned her attention to Smokey who stared at her with big brown eyes. “Can you scootch a little, girlie girl? I’d like to sit.”

Smokey did not, in fact, scootch over, but after a little bit of gently pushing her away a little bit, Grace was able to squeeze in between Jonathon and Smokey. She leaned her head on Jonathon’s shoulder and smiled as Smokey climbed over both of their laps, settling over them.

“I love you. Both of you.”

“I love you too,” Jonathon said quietly.

With his son in his arms, his wife at his side, and his dog half in his lap, he finally felt at ease.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in so long... I apologise. <3 Feedback is always wonderful.


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